TBILISI, August 28 – The opposition in Georgia is preparing what it calls a “peaceful revolution” on October 4. The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) warns that an attempt to overthrow the government will be treated as a crime.
Activists from the “Rustaveli Avenue” movement, together with Levan Khabeishvili from the United National Movement (UNM), have been touring regions like Gori and Kakheti to rally support for the initiative. They vow that hundreds of thousands will gather in Tbilisi around the time of the local elections to oust the government of GD’s founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
GD officials, however, say there is no such thing as a peaceful regime change and accuse the opposition of trying to stoke civil unrest. MP Dimitri Samkharadze issued threats on Facebook, warning that if the opposition pushes ahead, “nobody will save you.”
Khabeishvili fired back, claiming the government is panicking. The protesters will remain within constitutional boundaries unless police use force first, he argued, warning that “if you raise a hand against the people, you will see what real threats mean.”
The confrontation highlights Georgia’s polarized political scene, Rezonansi reports, where nearly every election cycle sparks allegations of fraud and calls for mass protests. The October 4 rally will be a test of whether the opposition can mount a united effort. Currently, it is divided between one part that is boycotting the election, and another group that is planning to take part.
Former president Salome Zourabichvili, who has hinted that she will return to politics soon, has suggested that local elections will not change anything and called for the opposition taking a broader aim of saving the country’s future.
Meanwhile, Mamuka Mdinaradze, recently nominated as head of the domestic intelligence agency called the State Security Service, dismissed the idea of a “peaceful revolution” as a contradiction in terms, calling it “as absurd as speaking of a peaceful murder.”
